Letters to the Editor published Wednesday, September 14, 2011

I wish to thank all the volunteers who helped make Curry County Cub Scout Day a success.

Without volunteers, Scouting would not exist.

I would also like to invite all boys in grades one through five to Cub Scout Sign-up Night on Thursday, Sept. 15 at K-school between 5 and 7:30 p.m.

Parents are also needed to fill leader positions to make the pack a success. Contact Tim Buehler for any questions at 541-469-0897.

Tim Buehler

Brookings

Flying club guys are a great bunch

Editor:

This letter was written and is being sent in behalf of my nephew Jerry Rogers of Klamath Falls.

“I would like to thank the guys of the Brookings Flying Club, Ross, Dave, Don and Ray, for the help they gave me on Saturday, Labor Day weekend, when I was stranded at the Brookings Airport. On landing I had a blowout. Dave made calls, Ross heads out for a report, Ray shows up and has tire and tube. Don comes in fixes the tire and in minutes I can enjoy my great weekend.

What a great bunch of people. I will pay this forward. Thanks again fellows.”

Ruth House, for

Jerry Rogers

Klamath Falls

Wallace, officers do outstanding job

Editor:

I write in support of Chief Wallace for having the courage to inform the citizens in his community of the effects that passage of Measure 74 could have on law enforcement’s ability to do their job.

It would seem reasonable that a police chief or sheriff would have the right and responsibility to keep the citizens informed regardless of whether they are on or off duty. Sometimes state agencies have a tendency to “strain out a gnat and swallow a camel,” Matthew 23:24.

Chief Wallace and his entire department do an outstanding job. The citizens of Brookings are fortunate to have them. Keep up the good work, Chief!

Kent Owens

former Curry County sheriff

The great divide between parties

Editor:

I was born in 1936 and not in my lifetime have I seen a greater divide between parties than now.

Your mom and dad’s Democratic Party has radically changed and it has dragged by its feet a large portion of the Republican Party known as “RHINOs” (Republicans In Name Only). Liberals accuse the Republican Party of dividing and the term RHINO suggests it is but what’s also true is this, Ron Paul, a Libertarian running as a Republican for president has brought a large segment of older Democrats with him. Older Democrats are conservative compared to the new Obama Democrat and that’s a fact; hello Democrats registering as Independent! Ron Paul can’t win but he sure is mixing the slurry.

Slamming George Bush is the only lifeline the Democrats have left besides calling the tea party movement racist and other ludicrous names. Bush had one fault, spending. Please don’t say he lied about weapons of mass destruction because we’ve all seen the women and children that Saddam Hussein gassed to death in remote villages. If Bush’s spending was so terrible why pray tell would you be for more spending than the trillions Obama and Bush have already disposed of?

I’m a tea party social conservative which means I’m against same sex marriage, teaching the history of homosexuality in high school, providing birth control to our young promiscuous children then give them free abortions when they forget the pill.

Those demeaning me better realize I cut my teeth on being competitive. Please continue your written onslaught so everyone can see the lies and spin your party represents then we’ll let the people reading make up their own minds.

Clay Dalrymple

Gold Beach

County’s proposal is a fool’s errand

Editor:

Commissioner Rhodes stubbornly pursues his fools errand of acquiring Cape Blanco State Airport and parts of the adjoining State Park in the face of overwhelming public opposition.

Many questions arise as to why this continues in the background with developers who he claims wish to remain anonymous. Any credible developer who is serious about spending tens or hundreds of millions of dollars on a project as grand as Rhodes alludes to would certainly have a more polished spokesperson than Rhodes selling the project to the public.

Anyone who attended the Bandon meeting with State Park board members and witnessed the Bandon Dunes presentation and then heard Rhodes plod through his “talk” can readily see the vast difference. The airport is presently closed down for runway crack sealing and a slurry seal. This expensive project is regularly scheduled on a three-year program and is paid for by the Federal Aviation Fund with no cost to State or local taxpayers. The Oregon Department of Airports acquired 24 million dollars this year for maintaining the 28 State airports and has the expertise and staff to do this.

The County can’t afford to fund the Port-a-Potty that is placed at the airport, much less conduct maintenance projects like this. Why encumber the already stretched County taxpayers with an airport acquisition that now costs them nothing and already is available for any developer or public use right now?

Rhodes and the other commissioners need to come clean on who authorized the test holes dug mysteriously on State park property. This initially prompted a “hot” investigation to reveal the culprit that suddenly has gone very cold.

George Welch

Sixes

Overwhelmed by 9/11 concert, vigil

Editor:

I was fortunate enough to attend the 9/11 concert and vigil put on by the Brookings-Harbor Red Shirts on Sunday.

I was not only overwhelmed by the turnout of fellow Americans in Azalea Park, but also impressed by the presence of so many groups who represent and protect us every day: the Coast Guard, honor guard, veterans, law enforcement, firefighters and EMTs were all proudly represented.

I have rarely felt such an outpouring of genuine love and reverence for country as I did that day. All who attended seemed to understand the profound respect for the freedoms we all enjoy, and an appreciation for those brave souls who perished on 9/11 helping their fellow Americans.

It is quite obvious to me that We The People will always stand together when our nation is threatened. Our fellow neighbors and friends are strong and unshakeable. We are resolute, resilient and determined, and our foundations are solid.

Being there honors the memory of all of those individuals who perished on 9/11. But coming and standing together also serves as a reminder of our exceptionalism and unshakeable resolve as fellow Americans.

Our nation will always flourish as the greatest nation on earth because of our freedoms endowed by our creator. And Americans will always stand for, and fight for, justice – no matter the enemy or the cost.

We should never forget those who lost their lives that tragic day .

May God bless our nation.

Jeffrey Tribble

Brookings

Commissioners are shucking and jiving

Editor:

The Curry County Commissioners are shucking and jiving with their plans to take ownership of Floras Lake State Natural Area and the Cape Blanco Airport, ceding these and county lands for 99 years to a golf course developer.

Their shtick has the developer reaping large profits from this venture, returning much to the county’s coffer. That’s far-fetched and may well read Curry County’s coffin when the developer goes belly up.

The commissioners fail to mention the Pygmy forests for which the area has long been protected. They are blind to the raw, wild beauty of Blacklock Point and the park’s remote trail system.

They have not asked the residents for their ideas and wishes, always deflecting questions for later. They seem unaware that trade of state park lands must provide an overwhelming public benefit to the state parks system.

They seem not to have investigated the legal consequences of combining lands of three ownerships and ceding all to a developer. They have pie-in-the-sky ideas about the economics and risks of developing a golf resort, and offer no economic feasibility.

They claim ignorance of the 16 mysterious illegal soil pits that only a developer would make. They are unaware of the 2005 Curry County Soil Survey and the marine terrace with its cemented, indurated subsoils. Soils impermeable to roots, flooded in winter and dry in summer.

Curry County Commissioners should drop their golf -course fantasy and work for sensible solutions that would provide revenue now, not in five years, maybe.

Ed Gross

Brookings

Sending the wrong smoke signals

Editor:

Last week while out shopping, I saw a garage sale sign for the benefit of a cancer victim. When I arrived at the sale there were three women hosting the event, and all were smoking.

I didn’t stay.

I pray they have some non-smoking friends to hold a benefit for them when their time comes.

Barbara J. Parrett-Early

Harbor

It is our fault, we are all to blame

Editor:

Re: Faith Forum – Sept. 10, 2011. Kathryn Justman’s friend painted a beautiful image about our responsibility to children. She’s right. We are allowing them to “walk off the edge of a beautiful road map into oblivion.”

My image, however, was quite different in the Public Forum on August 27. To me it looks like our children are being thrown off the edge by the standardized, “Factory Model” system that has evolved over the past four decades. Like the conveyor belt in the candy factory where Lucy and Ethel were working, life has speeded up to the point that our schools are no longer serving the best interests of our children – or of our country.

It’s easy to sit back and fault others for what has happened. But when I began to do that, another image from Saturday’s paper came to mind. It was an advertisement for a Medicare supplement insurance company on the inside front cover of the American Profile magazine. Under the picture of the Medicare-eligible “baby boom” couple and 30-40 of their offspring are the words “It’s Your Fault.” My family is not as large as the one pictured, but since I was born during the first year of the “Baby Boom” and have spent my life in the public school system, I interpreted that ad perhaps a bit differently from how it may have been intended.

It is our fault. We are all to blame – if “blame” must be assigned. And, like Kathryn Justman points out, the solution to our problems – both educational and economic – lies in helping our children remember their true nature. Educational models like Riverside Charter Academy’s “Expeditionary Learning” – as well as many other “constructivist” models – are specifically designed to help children practice their true nature as creative, collaborative, competent, compassionate, and conscious human beings.

Bette Moore

Brookings

Good luck to my theatrical families

Editor:

I would like to take a moment and express my love and appreciation to all those who have supported community theatre for the past 25 years.

It has been a joy and a very rewarding experience to work with the Chetco Pelican Players and the Brookings Harbor Community Theater as they struggle to provide good quality entertainment for the community.

It is not just one person that makes it happen, it is a team of volunteers (unpaid) that spend thousand of dollars and thousand of hours to give pleasure to a few. I encourage the community to continue to support both groups and keep theater alive in the Brookings Harbor Community. Be it as an actor, stage hand, costumer, painter or theatre patron, get involved, attended a show, you will find it very rewarding.

I will miss working with all of you ... good luck to both of my theatrical families.

Leanne McCurley Hinkle

Richland

County plan is all about tourism cash

Editor:

The airport, Blacklock Point, a golf course. What are we really talking about here? If we cut through all of the smoke and mirrors it isn’t about gorse, or trails or disuse of anything. It’s all about money: yours, mine, the County’s, and it all comes from one place – the tourist.

That is fact, but from here on this week this is going to be “one man’s opinions.” I say the tourist is “top dog”! I don’t care if he is a “birder” a “golfer” or just “moving on down the road.” My likes and your likes really don’t mean much.

What does the tourist like? He should have the widest possible array of fair-valued choices. He should have nature, and golf and whatever else we can reasonably make available for him to choose from.

I think a private course on private land is a great idea. I think the government should have only a regulatory role for the protection of the environment and the population and no business interest whatsoever. There is plenty of private oceanfront property to be purchased from willing sellers. Some areas such as Blacklock Point and that portion of the Sweet Ranch facing the Hughes House and others are valuable tourist attractions and should remain unsullied.

Unidentified developers of public/private projects usually have something to hide and should be avoided on principle.

More to come from me. What are your opinions? Let’s hear from you.

Jim Hajek

Port Orford

Not my idea of good government

Editor:

Pursuit of perfection, dedication, loyalty, honesty, eight hours work for eight hours pay – not so much anymore.

Quality and consistency almost non-existent, common sense almost a dirty word. In the scheme of things, the top and the bottom are indistinguishable. We are in a mess and most are digging the hole deeper. If we do what’s right, everyone will benefit.

The city council has suggested standards to reduce blight, a really good idea, but the council or the Pilot misspoke; landlords are the first target, many business owners lease or rent the property where they do business. There are multiple properties in Brookings and Harbor that are poorly maintained and some are not up to code. Local government needs to step up before they put a larger burden on business. Now that we have a new “box store” under construction, what are the plans for Railroad Street? Can you imagine what it would be like if Railroad was one way.

“Fast and furious,” more like “murder and mayhem,” the attorney general, the ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms) and the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) are killing Americans; that’s a fact – not my idea of good government.

Clifton Siemens

Brookings

Thank you, Obama the clown

Editor:

Obama the Clown says he took over the worst economy ever from George W. Bush.

Thank God Obama has been making the worst economy ever that much worse for the last 32 months!

Obama the Clown now says he has a jobs program that will fix everything.

Obama the Clown is certainly a fast learner; it only took him almost three years to figure out that job creation is important to the American people. Funny how he figured that out 14 months before election day.

Jimmy Hoffa Jr., and the Teamsters Union have gotten behind Obama the Clown 100 percent. Forget the fact that Obama lets in unsafe trucks from Mexico. Who cares that Obama advisers like Robert Reich, don’t want any of the new construction jobs, to go to skilled white workers who were actually born in this country!

It was treasonous morons like Robert Reich and Al Gore who gave us job-killing trade deals like NAFTA and GATT in the first place, but Jimmy Hoffa Jr. knows exactly what he is doing when he endorses Obama for president

His father knew exactly what he was doing when he jumped in bed with the Mafia.

Just ask him, if you can find him.

Obama the Clown is going to create new jobs by giving us Free Trade deals with South Korea and Panama. What?